I’m quite willing to believe that there are bad actors within the government, I do not believe that the government as a whole could be characterised as a bad ac

I’m quite willing to believe that there are bad actors within the government, I do not believe that the government as a whole could be characterised as a bad actor regarding security. Also, while secret services may do all kinds of bullshit hidden in the dark something like the data retention law is out in the open and consequently comparably much easier to contain. It’s possible to have a proper discussion about it. (I think this also quite neatly illustrates the value of having those discussions out in the open, both when it comes to the courts that decide on it and to the political pressures. If it happens in secret it is much, much harder to control and contain. Policy that is decided on in secret – even if by elected representatives or people appointed by elected representatives – is just much more dangerous.)